President of Armenia discussed Karabakh conflict with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Questions regarding the current stage of the negotiation process on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict discussed on Monday the president of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, the press service of the head of Armenian state reported.

According to Armenpress, the meeting was attended by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Bernard Fassier (France), Robert Bradtke (USA), Igor Popov (Russia), Personal Representative of OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, as well as a French diplomat Jacques Faure, who next year will replace Fassier as co-chair MG from France.

"On the eve of the meeting of the Council of the OSCE Foreign Ministers to be held in Vilnius in December, the sides discussed issues related to the current stage of the negotiation process on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict" - the report says.

The parties also noted the need to strengthen confidence-building measures between parties in conflict.

OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs arrived in Yerevan on Monday as part of a regional visit.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.